SOUTHAMPTON MP and Saints fan Alan Whitehead has lent his support to the Daily Echo campaign to get the debate on safe standing at all-seater stadiums re-opened in Parliament.

The Labour MP, below, has written to Sports Minister Richard Caborn backing our calls for an extensive look into new technology that allows seated areas to be converted into safe standing zones.

"I certainly back safe standing areas if it can be proved that they are safe," said St Mary's season-ticket holder Whithead, who has been watching the Saints since the early 1970s.

"I would support the introduction of a licencing committee which would work with clubs.

"If a club wanted a safe standing area, it could have one. If they didn't want one, they wouldn't have to have one.

"We would need to pay proper notice to what happened at Hillsborough.

"Would it be possible to get in and out safely? Would it be safe to watch a game?

"Would it be safe if some unforseen circumstances were to happen?

"But if it was proved that they were safe, I don't see that it would be a problem to implement - if that's what supporters wanted."

Whitehead's backing is a significant step forward in our campaign to get the safe standing debate re-opened.

And his support can be added to the backing that Birmingham MP Roger Godsiff gave to our campaign in Saturday's Daily Echo.

Godsiff failed in his bid to get a bill on safe standing debated in Parliament earlier this year.